Surviving in my Own Unpublished Failed Novel

"Are you free right now?"

Samantha – who had Russell's contact number – texted him, seemingly feeling the need for a company for unknown reasons.

It's not late at night as the bluish moon's moonlight that seemed to encapsulate the world hasn't intensified yet.

"Yes, what's the matter?"

Samantha read Russell's reply with an expression of longing for someone to talk to, she didn't know why she was feeling this way at this very moment.

"Nothing, want to hang out?"

Although Samantha knew that getting out at this time of the night and with a man at that would garner unnecessary attention. She didn't say it to Russell not because she wasn't feeling concerned, but rather because she thought that he knows it himself.

"Sure, where though?"

She was momentarily at a loss for words because she didn't think of the location, but after pondering for some time, she then replied what she thought.

"Exclusive Public Training Grounds."

...

Room 393, Andromeda Building

Russell — who had just collected his thoughts after writing in a plain notebook what he remembered at this moment about the Eye-related skills and their possessors — wore a blank look on his face as he read the reply of Samantha.

Heaving a sigh, he replied after a few seconds.

"Alright. I'll be there, wait for me."

As a student not from an A-1 class, he won't be able to get inside the Rigel Building normally without the company of another A-1 student.

...

Ten minutes later, at the front of the Rigel Building entrance.

"Good evening."

Russell just nodded as he smiled in response to Samantha's words under the gaze of two A+ rank guards standing side by side by the entrance of the Rigel Building doing their job perfectly because they didn't even question the daughter of the number 1 player.

'They are too diligent.'

Although it wasn't the first time that Russell went into the Rigel Building, he was still amazed by the intricate, luxurious design of the building's interior. There are chandeliers symmetrically hanging from one place to another, emitting white light not from electricity but rather from magic stones that were mined skillfully. There are still people walking around, but they aren't students as some of them wore formal suits and maid wear.

'To think that there are only 40 students in this building.'

Russell laughed self-deprecatingly as he thought that he gave so many privileges to A-1 students when writing his unpublished novel, but he retracted what surfaced in his mind because he felt that he might not think about such things if he also has those kinds of privileges. It was human nature evident not just in this world, but in his previous life.

There are five floors in the Rigel Building and each floor has different functions.

The first floor consists of lodgings for the butler and maids.

The second floor consists of a luxurious, very spacious kitchen where students can choose whether to cook by themselves in front of others or just let the chefs do the job.

The third floor consists of dormitory rooms ranging from Room 20 to 40, as well as the Exclusive Public Training Grounds where interactions from A-1 students mostly happen, while the fourth floor consists of rooms from Room 11 to 19, and the fifth or last floor – Room 1 to 10.

"What are you doing?"

Russell asked Samantha, clearly confused by her action because she clicked the button for the fifth floor where her dorm room was located, but he soon realized that he asked the wrong question as he saw Samantha's lips curled up, forming a cheeky smile.

'F*ck! I made a mistake!'

Looking at him, maintaining her smile, Samantha asked casually.

"How do you know that the Exclusive Public Training Grounds isn't on the fifth floor...?"

"Haha, what do you mean?"

Russell — whose mind was racing to find a valid reason — tried to compose himself as he casually laughed, asking her with a confused expression.

"Nothing... It's just something that tells me you're not a normal person heh heh."

Samantha giggled as her eyes felt like also smiling matching her slightly curled-up lips.

...

After taking a quick elevator, they both arrived on the fifth floor, and as they walked through the floor's corridor, they saw a redhead figure just opening up the door of her dorm room.

'Anya!'

Anya looked at them with her expression unknown, but something tells Russell that unknown expression was a prelude to something scandalous.

Samantha smiled at her and Anya just nodded her head in response before going inside her dorm room.

"We're here."

...

Similar to other dorm rooms of other buildings, Samantha's dorm also contained the living and bedroom combination where a single bed was beside a study desk that was also beside a comfortable, long couch where a rectangular glass table was placed in front of, and there's also the television where a wall clock was situated atop it, hanging on the wall. It was very similar to other dorms at first glance until one looks at the lofty bookshelf with numerous books; the potion cellar, where potions are stored instead of wine; and then two other door entrances built into the wall in the kitchen.

It was the door to her Personal Training Grounds and the door where a personal Virtual Capsule was.

"I thought we were going to the Exclusive Public Training Grounds?"

Russell asked, scratching his head.

'This woman got me.'

He lampooned inwardly because he felt that Samantha tricked her.

Although he has the mentality of 33 years old, it wasn't the case for the other people like Anya who saw him with Samantha.

"I changed my mind, but can you tell me why your initial reaction when I pressed the button for the fifth floor was like that... as if you know that the Exclusive Public Training Grounds isn't on this floor in the first place. As far as I know, your younger sister hasn't come up here on this floor yet because there's no reason for her to do so. It means she hasn't told you anything about this floor."

'Why are you insisting on that!?'

But then, a sudden realization illuminate Russell's mind!

"My younger sister told me that the Exclusive Public Training Grounds is on the third floor where she's at."

'Yes, this is my out!'

Russell thought as if he finally escaped the simple dilemma, but soon his hopes were crushed like a sandcastle ravaged by flowing water.

"Liar. I asked your younger sister if she told you anything about what's in this building... She said yes, including the Exclusive Public Training Grounds, but that's all there was to it. She didn't exactly tell you on what floor where it is located."

'Hey. Ms. Samantha, can you stop nagging me? This is harder than training in the Chaos Training Grounds.'

Russell heaved a sigh of resignation, he didn't answer Samantha anymore as they arrived inside her spacious Personal Training Grounds.

...

The next day, early morning. In Elizabeth's room.

Brushing her teeth because she just wanted to instead of using her Purification skill to clean herself, she looked in the mirror where her light green eyes and blonde hair could be seen. A smile cannot leave her lips as bubbles from brushing her teeth were leaking out.

'That woman brought a man into her room, during the night at that. Hahaha!'

She thought, laughing inwardly as she read what Anya said in their group chat as soon as she woke up. Although they weren't much close before the academy days as business always came first, they were starting to learn to act casual and normal, not befitting their status as a princess or daughter of a ranker player. They made a women's group chat only where they talked about anything ridiculous or anything of concern.

'This must be what mother said... Enjoy your high school days. Hahaha!'

...

If not for the fact that Russell knew Samantha deeply because of what he wrote in his unpublished novel, he might have thought that she was an Artificial Intelligence or a living robot at that because of the messed up information in her Status Window. For some time now, he was observing changes in the Status Windows of the main characters he wrote about.

Leon, Anya, Elizabeth, and Rumia became stronger originally while Han Jiho remained the same, but there were no other notable changes aside from that, unlike Samantha's Status Window that contained, aside from [Locked], [Error] information.

"Forget it. There's nothing I can do for now."

He muttered softly, combing his deep black hair while looking at his reflection in the circular mirror where his deep blue eyes were also reflected.

...

A few hours later, inside the Obelisk Grand Stadium.

"This is the tenth match for today! Here I call...

"Our defender, Rank 31, Amelie Rose Merveil!"

Soon, a gorgeous pink-haired, red-eyed woman entered the arena on one end, and the other end...

"Our challenger, Rank 41, Liana Asteria."

A woman with beautiful features, with blue hair and snowy-colored eyes, as if there's a raging blizzard in her pupil, walked in, holding a staff with a snowflakes design.

"Go, Liana!"

"You can do it!"

"Go go! Bring glory to our class!"

"Amelie! Please win!"

Before the referee announce the beginning of the Challenge of Exchange, any kind of cheering reverberated throughout the Obelisk Grand Stadium, but there were people who were silent, observing the participants in the front... or rather checking their Status Windows.

...

"An E Rank Battle Mage against an E+ Rank with a dual profession — Ice Mage, Ice Enhancer."

A Guild Scouter from a known guild called Starlight Guild mumbled as he used a Status Appraisal Skill.

"Crowd Control type of profession is a bane for a Battle Mage. This battle is certain from the start... What do you think, Alex?"

The man named Alex looked at the woman beside him, it was his co-worker that was assigned to recruiting. As a Guild Scouter, Alex was technically living the title Scouter itself because he was bad at communicating like doing interviews or recruiting, that's why the Guild also sent another person who was good at that particular job.

"I don't know... Let's just see if you're right, Riya."

As the Guild Scouter who told Riya about the basic information of the participants in the stage, he was aligned with Riya's judgment.

"Hello, do you want to take a bet?"

At that moment, a voice from behind sounded in their ears, prompting them to look in the direction of where it came from. There they saw an average-looking man with deep black hair and deep blue eyes.

"Oppa! What are you doing!?"

A very attractive woman sitting beside the man who also has slightly long deep black hair that was a ponytail and deep blue eyes resembling the deepness of an ocean and the loftiness of the cloudless sky spoke, seemingly irritated and confuse about the man's action beside her.

'Are they siblings?'

Alex used his Status Appraisal Skill and saw that the average-looking man was only an F rank while the attractive woman was an E rank.

"Hahaha, hey kid, you better focus on your study first before you start gambling."

Riya said, not taking seriously what the man just said, but then the man took out a stack of cash amounting to 50,000 Obel. It was a very low sum of money if a person was a member of a guild because being a guild worker — adventurer, production, or staff in position — would profit a person hundreds or millions of Obel.

Riya scoffed at the man's action before saying seriously as she frowned.

"Hey, I don't know where you get that money. But you should save it."

<Alex, what's this brat's rank?>

Riya asked using telepathic communication.

<F rank only. Why?>

Alex replied, wearing a confused look at Riya's question.

<Tsk. This brat is irritating me, but he's only an F rank. I don't want to take advantage of a kid, but I'll treat you after this if this kid insists on throwing his money away, wherever that came from.>

"I guess you ain't no good at judging character."

The man's words at this moment caused Riya's eyebrows to narrow as a line of veins budged on her forehead.

"You brat... Deal!"

...

Russell — who told his younger sister that it was alright via telepathy through the Chaos Companion connection — muttered inwardly as he heard the woman's voice who agreed to small gambling.

'Easy money.'